1. Field
The invention generally relates to a method and apparatus for treating obesity, excess weight gain, and controlling weight gain in mammals. More specifically, the invention relates to intragastric devices (e.g., one or more cages) placed within the stomach of a mammal to occupy volume and to cause a reduced desire for eating for treating obesity and controlling weight gain.
2. Related Art
Obesity is a major illness in the United States and other developed countries. More than half of Americans are overweight, while nearly one-third are categorized as obese. Obesity is the accumulation of excess fat on the body, and is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of greater than 30. Many serious long-term health consequences are associated with obesity, such as, hypertension, diabetes, coronary artery disease, stroke, congestive heart failure, venous disease, multiple orthopedic problems and pulmonary insufficiency with markedly decreased life expectancy.
Medical management of obesity, such as dietary, psychotherapy, medication and behavioral modification techniques, have yielded extremely poor results in terms of treating obesity. In addition, several surgical procedures have been tried which have bypassed the absorptive surface of the small intestine or have been aimed at reducing the stomach size by either partition or bypass. These surgical procedures have been proven both hazardous to perform in morbidly obese patients and have been fraught with numerous life-threatening postoperative complications. Moreover, such operative procedures are often difficult to reverse.
Currently, in cases of morbid or severe obesity, patients may undergo several types of bariatric surgery, such as gastric bypass, either to tie off or staple portions of the large or small intestine or stomach, and/or to bypass portions of the same to reduce the amount of food desired by the patient, and the amount absorbed by the intestinal track. In addition, procedures such as laparoscopic banding, where a device is used to constrict a portion of the stomach, can also achieve these results.
In the case of gastric bypass surgery, laparoscopic banding and other highly invasive surgical procedures, several complications can arise that make these procedures clinically suboptimal. The surgical procedures require the patient to submit to an intervention under general anesthesia, and may require large incisions and lengthy recovery times. In addition, many of these surgical procedures are irreversible.
Therefore, a need exists for a minimally-invasive procedure and device that eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks of conventional methods and devices that are currently being used to treat obesity and control weight gain.